In a bid to curb medicine shortages and control exports, authorities decided on Tuesday to tighten inspections on suppliers.

Alternate Health Minister Marios Salmas and officials at the National Organization for Medicines (EOF) decided that pharmacies would come under scrutiny as some are suspected of buying drugs from pharmaceutical firms and selling them to distributors for export.

Salmas said the export of drugs that are in short supply will be suspended and called for checks on distributors after cases emerged of authenticity seals on medicines being removed and used to make bogus claims from insurance funds.

It was also decided that insurance funds can repay debts to suppliers at a discount of 8-20 percent.